08-30-2023, 02:17 PM
"Around 1586 Martin Roesel of Rosenthal compiled an alchemical manuscript in northern Germany. Now held in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library as Mellon MS 27, the manuscript contains several widely circulating alchemical treatises, among them the Semita recta of pseudo-Albertus Magnus and Khalid ibn Yazid’s Liber Trium Verborum, alongside alchemical recipes in both Latin and German. Martin annotated the three booklets that compose Mellon MS 27 extensively, copying
recipes from other sources and writing down his own. Although otherwise unknown, Martin is notable for having hidden some of his notes in cipher. While alchemists were famous for their secretiveness, I will argue that Martin’s use of ciphers represents a different sort of secret-keeping, one that stands to repay systematic study."
Agnieszka Rec, Yale
https://societasmagica.org/userfiles/fil...sue_31.pdf
recipes from other sources and writing down his own. Although otherwise unknown, Martin is notable for having hidden some of his notes in cipher. While alchemists were famous for their secretiveness, I will argue that Martin’s use of ciphers represents a different sort of secret-keeping, one that stands to repay systematic study."
Agnieszka Rec, Yale
https://societasmagica.org/userfiles/fil...sue_31.pdf